Division I - Biology, Chemistry, and Process Engineering

KIT and Wintershall Dea Launch Collaboration on Climate-friendly Industrial-scale Methane Pyrolysis.

Methane pyrolysis will allow for the future climate-friendly use of fossil natural gas: Methane is separated into gaseous hydrogen and solid carbon that is a valuable material for various industry branches and can also be stored safely. This may be a key component of future climate-neutral energy supply. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a highly efficient process for this purpose. Together with the industry partner Wintershall Dea, this process will now be further developed for use on the industrial scale.

KIT and Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) Develop First Electrolytes for Calcium Batteries with Acceptable Properties at Room Temperature.

Calcium-based batteries promise to reach a high energy density at low manufacturing costs. This lab-scale technology has the potential for replacing lithium-ion technology in future energy storage systems. Using the electrolytes available, however, it has been impossible so far to charge calcium batteries at room temperature. In the Energy & Environmental Science journal, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) now present a promising electrolyte class, with which this will be possible. (DOI: 10.1039/c9ee01699f)

Government-funded Kopernikus Project P2X: Integrated Container-scale Test Facility Produces Fuels from the Air-captured Carbon Dioxide and Green Power

Several challenges associated with the energy transition can be managed by coupling the sectors of electric power and mobility. Green power could be stored in the long term, fuels of high energy density could be used in a carbon-neutral way. Sector coupling has now been demonstrated by the partners of the P2X Kopernikus project on the premises of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The first liters of fuel were produced from air-captured carbon dioxide and green power. For the first time, a container-based test facility integrating all four chemical process steps needed was used to implement a continuous process with maximum carbon dioxide utilization and very high energy efficiency.

Innovative Processes: KIT is Technology Leader in the Production of Battery Electrodes.

With a new coating process, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have produced electrodes for lithium-ion batteries at record speed. At the same time, the new process improves the quality of electrodes and reduces production costs.

Direct Synthesis of Technological Material Graphene from Greenhouse Gas Carbon Dioxide – Publication in ChemSusChem.

The general public knows the chemical compound of carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and because of its global-warming effect. However, carbon dioxide can also be a useful raw material for chemical reactions. A working group at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has now reported on this unusual application in the ChemSusChem journal. They are using carbon dioxide as a raw material to produce graphene, a technological material which is currently the subject of intense study. (DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201901404).